Classic Comfort Baking | DoubleTree Chocolate Chip Cookies

Hello lovely reader! I hope you are staying safe and healthy in these beyond crazy times. This pandemic is truly an unimaginable situation and I hope everyone is coping the best they can and that you are being kind to others and especially to yourself.

One thing that I have always found relaxing and therapeutic is baking and this time at home has allowed me to try new recipes and zone out for an hour or two. At the beginning of April, Hilton released their world famous DoubleTree Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe as a way for people to bring this iconic, warm, and comforting treat into their own home. I don't tend to stray much when it comes to chocolate chip cookies with my go to being our family recipe so I'm always a bit hesitant to give something else a chance...however, when in quarantine might as well! I decided to give it a go and I am glad that I did! The cookies are delicious, crisp on the outside, chewy on the inside and the walnuts add a great additional texture! 10/10 would recommend.

DoubleTree Signature Cookie Recipe (Makes 26 cookies)

Ingredients

½ pound butter, softened (2 sticks)

¾ cup + 1 tablespoon granulated sugar

¾ cup packed light brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 ¼ teaspoons vanilla extract

¼ teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

2 ¼ cups flour

1/2 cup rolled oats

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

Pinch of cinnamon

2 2/3 cups Nestle Tollhouse semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 3/4 cups chopped walnuts

*Click here for recipe in metric units*

Cream butter, sugar and brown sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer on medium speed for about 2 minutes. 

Add eggs, vanilla and lemon juice, blending with mixer on low speed for 30 seconds, then medium speed for about 2 minutes, or until light and fluffy, scraping down bowl. 

With mixer on low speed, add flour, oats, baking soda, salt and cinnamon, blending for about 45 seconds. Don’t overmix. 

Remove bowl from mixer and stir in chocolate chips and walnuts.

Portion dough with a scoop (about 3 tablespoons) onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper about 2 inches apart. 

Preheat oven to 300°F. Bake for 20 to 23 minutes, or until edges are golden brown and center is still soft. 

Remove from oven and cool on baking sheet for about 1 hour.

Cook’s note: You can freeze the unbaked cookies, and there’s no need to thaw. Preheat oven to 300°F and place frozen cookies on parchment paper-lined baking sheet about 2 inches apart. Bake until edges are golden brown and center is still soft.

Simple to make and really delicious!

What have you been baking during quarantine? Tried any new recipes? Xx

*This post is not an ad or in affiliation with Hilton or the DoubleTree*

Spooky Sweet Treats | Pumpkin Shaped Sugar Cookies

Hi lovely reader! Happy Hallo-weekend! Fall is in full swing here, the leaves have changed colors and the temperatures are starting to drop. I wore my first heavy coat today and am ready for sweater weather! Today I wanted to share a fun and festive treat with you that is a Halloween tradition for me. My mom and I have baked these cute pumpkin cookies for as long as I can remember. They are super simple, quick, and fun to decorate. Perfect for a last minute addition to an upcoming Halloween party or special treat for yourself or trick or treaters!

Note that this recipe makes vanilla sugar cookies, they are pumpkin shaped, not pumpkin flavored:)

You will need:
-1 cup of butter
-1 cup of sugar
-1 large egg
-2 teaspoons of baking powder
-1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
-3 cups of flower
-pumpkin mold tray or pumpkin shaped cookie cutters
-Orange food coloring (optional)
-Cooking spray
-Icing, sugar, or candy to decorate your pumpkins

First preheat your oven to 400 degrees. In a bowl, cream your butter and sugar with an electric mixer and then beat in the vanilla. 

After that add the baking powder and then the flour, one cup at a time, mixing after each cup. Once you have added the flour, the dough will become stiff and is ready to be shaped into the molds or rolled out if you are using a cookie cutter. Be sure to grease your molds with cooking spray before placing the dough in them. You can also knead food coloring into your dough at this point if you want to make your pumpkins orange. 

Bake the cookies for 10 to 12 minutes (mine tend to be done closer to 10 min), cool, and remove from the pan. Then repeat the process, being sure to grease your pans each time. 

After the cookies have completely cooled, you are ready to decorate. This year I used an orange icing pen for the eyes, nose, and mouth and then poured yellow sugar over them to give a glowing sparkly effect. I then used chocolate icing and green sugar for the stem.

Enjoy!

Do you have any favorite Halloween treats? Xx

Peanut Butter Coconut Oatmeal Cookies | Healthy Recipes

Hiya lovely reader! The weekend is upon us and I am ready for it. This week actually went by fairly quickly for me, I worked, met up with friends, organized, and got stuff done. The satisfaction of making a list and then being able to cross things off, is something that I will always appreciate. Anyway, I hope you have some fun things planned and get to relax or do what you want. I wanted to share this recipe with you so you can sweeten things up, this weekend or anytime, with some tasty cookies. Now not only are these cookies peanut buttery goodness, they are also a healthier alternative to some cookies. I found the recipe on Popsugar Fitness while on the hunt for some healthier alternative recipes for sweets. I was quite pleased with how they turned out, and how they taste. (May or may not be eating one while I type this)

Ingredients
2/3 cup vegetable oil
1 cup crunchy natural peanut butter
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1 1/2 cup old fashion oats*
1 1/2 cup quick oats*
1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

*After baking the cookies, I think that using a tad less oats would be better, the dough was crumbly with this amount. Maybe try 1 cup of each and then check the consistency of the dough. I had to roll the cookies into balls and then press them in order for them to stay together. After baking them and allowing them to set for a while, they did remain intact.

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 375º F

2. Beat the oil and peanut butter. Add in the eggs, sugar, and vanilla and beat until mixed. Stir in the coconut.

3. In a separate bowl, mix the oats, flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Stir this gradually into the peanut butter mixture.

4. Grease your baking sheets and drop the dough in 1 1/2 tablespoon "globs". Press to flatten the "globs" and bake for around 8 minutes or until the bottom of the cookies seems to be a golden brown.

5. Allow the cookies to set on a cooling rack.

6. Enjoy!

Nutrition Facts

What'd you think? Do you have any healthy cookie recipes that you enjoy? Xx

World Baking Day 2015!

Hello lovely readers! I hope you are having a nice Sunday. Today is "World Baking Day"! This day is meant to be all about reminding someone who matters how much you care about them. I personally love baking! My mom is an amazing baker, so I try to pick up tips from her and definitely have grown up loving baking. Now that I am older I am more into trying out new recipes that I see in magazines or on blogs. I also like the artistic side of it, decorating cakes and cookies (not to brag but I can create some pretty on point gingerbread people). So in honor of this sweet day, I thought I'd link all my baking posts in one so that if you are looking for a recipe to try or just wanna have a scroll you can! Even if you don't consider yourself a baker, even a simple sugar cookie can go a long way! The World Baking Day website has tons of recipes! Happy Baking!!!

The Best Cookies

Peanut Butter Reindeer Cookies Christmas in June?

Gingerbread Cookies

"California Granola"

"Pumpkin Bars"

The next thing I really want to try and bake is a "naked cake"! I think they're so pretty and dainty! This one on DesignLoveFest looks amazing!

What do you like to bake? Any recipes you'd like to share? Xx

Gingerbread on Gingerbread | Blogmas

Hiya lovely reader! Are you ready for this week? Christmas is coming soon!! As you can probably tell from the title I did some more baking for the Christmas party! Making gingerbread cookies has become a tradition. So here's some pics to get your tastebuds going, I wish you could smell the house because it literally smelled like cookies for two days straight! 

Have you made any gingerbread cookies this year? Xx

Busy Baking | Blogmas

Hi lovely reader! Today was quite a sweet day, filled with baking. Every year my mom and I like to bake Christmas cookies, and this year we are taking it to a whole other level. My family is hosting the annual Christmas party this year so we are making quite a variety of options! My mom made these adorable peanut butter reindeer cookies that are delicious! 

I baked the "Tanya Burr Cookies"! I made them one other time and actually did a step by step post which you can view here. I really liked them and I love how they have candy bar bits in them! 

What cookies do you make around the holiday season? Xx

"Not the GumDrop Buttons" | Blogmas

Does this fit you? Which way do you attack your gingerbread man? Xx

Christmas Cookies: Blogmas

The delicious scent of freshly baked cookies currently fills the house. Today was a pretty chill day, little things being done here and there to get everything ready for Christmas. I still cannot believe that tomorrow is Christmas Eve. Everything around screams Christmas and festivity but I still don't fully feel it (problems problems). I'm glad this time is here but frightened at the same time by how quickly everything is going. Also at the bottom is a link to my favorite holiday commercial of this year. I usually am not one for the sappy commercials of this time of year but I like this one because I think it is extremely relevant. Be sure to click the link to see what it is! Have a lovely cozy day! Xx

OoOoOo what will it be? Have a click and see!
I also really love the song in the background